


Speak to Me

by FairydustOnRoses



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Canonical Character Death, Kid!Fic, M/M, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 10:55:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9068578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairydustOnRoses/pseuds/FairydustOnRoses
Summary: Kid!Derek thinks baby!Stiles cries too much





	

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr: damnpoe-2187

Confusion. “Why is he so ugly?”

Resentment. “Is he going to cry like that all the time?”

Disgust. “Why does he have snot coming out of his nose?”

Annoyance. “Yes, Laura, I know he’s a baby but I don’t understand why I need to come see him.”

Exasperation. “What do you mean I’m going to marry him?”

Irritation. “Who made that stupid rule?”

“Derek Hale! What have I said about using those words?” Derek immediately froze and turned around, his shoulders hunched up around his ears.

“I’m sorry, Mama,” Derek said softly.

Laura giggled from next to the crib and pushed her finger against the baby’s smushed cheek. She started cooing to it and telling it how sorry she was that he had to be married to her ugly, rude baby brother.

“Laura Hale, this is not helping,” their mother scolded her. “This marriage contract between Derek and Prince Mateusz is very important to the safety of our countries.”

Derek looked confused again. “Prince what? I can’t say that name.”

“Queen Claudia says they’re going to call him Stiles as a nickname, but Mateusz was his grandfather’s name,” Talia explained to them. She pulled Derek away from the squalling baby and knelt down until she was face to face with him.

“You’ll have a long time to get to know him, Derek. Your father and I will not force you into this marriage if you do not want it when the time comes. But please try, for the sake of our country.”

Derek sighed, a big gush of wind leaving his lungs as he looked over at the baby prince once more.

“I’ll try. I just wish he would stop crying.”

 

~~~ Twelve Years Later ~~~

 

Derek paced his bedchamber and tried very hard not to throw something against the wall. Prince Stiles was making it exceedingly hard to enjoy his birthday celebrations and considering that this was his eighteenth, he had wanted it to be extra special.

Oh god. He sounded like a five year old complaining about not getting all the toys he wanted.

All the meetings and visits with Stiles over the years have not made Derek any more used to the deluge of words that come out of Stiles’ mouth. Stiles was polite and quiet in public appearances, if a little fidgety. But as soon as he was behind closed doors he ran his mouth with no filter whatsoever. To be fair, he had gotten better as he grew up and learned social norms. The death of his mother last year had also sobered him a bit. He barely spoke to anyone at the funeral or the days afterwards when Derek’s family stayed to pay their respects. Derek almost missed the constant chatter… almost. Stiles had answered when spoken to but there had been no life behind his eyes. It was a terrible thing to lose a parent so young and Derek’s heart broke for him as he watched the silent tears stream down his face during the burial.

Of course now that it had been more than a year since then, Stiles was back to his old hyper self. He was now twelve years old and, according to Derek’s own tutor, as sharp as a whip. Derek had hoped that he would now be able to have intelligent conversations with the younger prince but it seemed that Stiles was not yet interested in the same things as Derek.

His hope was that since Stiles was almost a teenager, they would be able to be more on equal ground now, despite to six year age gap. Derek was proven wrong the second Stiles arrived and began asking millions of questions about the architecture of the Hale palace and the intricacies that allowed it to run.

Derek shook his head to clear these thoughts and then squared his shoulders and drew breath deep into his lungs before crossing the room and opening the door into his private sitting room again.

Stiles was sitting on one of the armchairs and trying very hard not to look bored. Queen Talia had suggested they spend the afternoon together before the feast tonight in order to get to know one another without the prying eyes of both family and palace staff.

When Derek entered the room he stood up and made a small bow to him. Stiles sat down but immediately stood back up and began fidgeting with his shirt sleeves.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, I’m still getting used to all the protocols, we didn’t really use them that much at home. Well at least I didn’t. Everyone else bows to me. My father doesn’t make me bow to him and my mother… when she was… I didn’t have to bow to her either. I’m working on it, I just have to learn the different gestures for each rank and my tutors say that I’m a fast learner but I can’t really sit still in lessons for very long so I tend not to hear what they’re saying after a while…” Stiles trailed off and Derek tried to keep his expression neutral while a pounding headache threatened to break behind his eyes.

“At least in private, we should be able to be casual with each other,” Derek said diplomatically. “Tell me about a typical day for you at home. What do you do for fun?”

Stiles looked relieved and lowered himself back into the armchair. Derek moved to pour them both glasses of water and then sat in the chair across from him.

Words began to fall at an alarming rate out of Stiles’ mouth, fueled by nerves no doubt. “I start most days with sword training. My father said it was time for me to start learning when I was ten. I get up at dawn and train for an hour, then I have breakfast and go to my lessons for the rest of the morning. Mostly I learn history, mathematics, geography, and battle strategy. I like when I get to have literature lessons and sometimes my tutor lets me study a topic and then have a debate with him about how I would have done something differently to change the outcome. I get to have lunch in private with my father which is nice since we have dinner with all the other courtiers in the main hall at night and can’t usually talk about anything meaningful. In the afternoon I get to go to the stables and ride my horse. My best friend Scott is learning from the groom how to care for horses and other animals. His mother, Lady Melissa, is the court healer and I think it’s funny that Scott is training to be an animal healer because…”

Derek began to zone him out a bit, thinking that maybe he was starting to grow up if he was so focused on learning to sword fight and ride horses and form a strategy like a king or general would need to in times of crisis. The young prince still talked too much, however, and it seemed to Derek that the only way Stiles could possibly win discussions and debates is if the other person got so frustrated with his talking that they agreed with him just to make him stop.

“… when Lady Lydia came riding into the stables and I think I fell in love with her right then and there.” Stiles paused, his eyes wide, his brain seeming to catch up with the words that came out of his mouth. “Not that--it’s not like--that is, I mean, I know that we’re betrothed, it’s just that she’s so… she’s beautiful. I’m sure you’ll meet her eventually. I mean, if you come visit our palace again, I could introduce you, if you want. I mean--I don’t want to make you feel bad. I do like you Derek, but I hardly see you and…” Stiles was sputtering and stuttering so much that Derek had to raise and hand and clap it over the boy’s mouth before he turned blue.

“Stiles, it’s okay. You’re still very young, our marriage is years away. Don’t stress out about it right now,” Derek tried to soothe him. “We’re just getting to know each other right now.”

“Could I write to you? When I’m back home, that is. So we can keep updated on what’s going on,” Stiles suggested.

Stiles met his eyes hesitantly and waited for Derek to answer him. Derek considered it, thinking that it was probably a good idea to keep in touch so they wouldn’t have to relearn everything about each other every time they met. He also secretly felt that there were no drawbacks for him because even if Stiles did write a small novel for him instead of a weekly letter, Derek would be able to put it down and read it at his leisure.

“Yes, I think that would be a smart idea, Stiles,” Derek gave a diplomatic smile with his answer. He was slightly surprised to see a blush rise into the boy’s cheeks. The reason for it was explained when the next question fell from his lips.

“Will you teach me the protocols for dinner tonight?” Stiles asked. “I don’t want to look like a fool in front of your parents.”

Derek thought, why me, but nodded and stood up to begin the lesson.

Later that night at dinner, Derek was satisfied to see that Prince Stiles performed the proper bows and introductions without difficulty.

“He’s a quick learner, Der.” Laura rubbed her shoulder against Derek’s and smiled brightly before adding, “You’re lucky, I think he’s going to be very handsome in a few years.”

“If only he wouldn’t talk so much,” Derek muttered under his breath.

 

~~~Five Years Later~~~

 

Derek found that he was impatient for Stiles’ replies to his letters. What he had originally counted as a blessing was now a burden. Derek felt as though he could not wait for the answers to his questions and wished that Stiles’ letters would be longer.

Not that he would ever admit it.

They had exchanged hundreds of letters in the five years since their last meeting for Derek’s birthday. They started off with simple accounts of their daily lives, comparing and contrasting what they were allowed and ordered to do. At first, Derek found himself in the role of a big brother or an older cousin giving the younger advice but in the last year or so he found the tone of his and Stiles’ letters had changed.

The topics discussed in the letters turned more towards asking probing questions and filling each other in on their secret hopes and desires. If you asked him on the day of his eighteenth birthday, Derek would have laughed if someone told him he would write and tell Stiles all about his ambitions to choreograph new dances for the court to perform.

For Stiles’ part, he was always very open with his feelings and there wasn’t much that he wouldn’t speak of, except when it came to his mother. In that respect, he confided to Derek in one long letter, Derek himself was the only one who could get him to open up about Queen Claudia and help him come to terms with her passing.

Derek kept his letters in a locked chest under his bed, not because they were embarrassing or held secret plans, but because they were private. They were the account of Derek and Stiles’ friendship… and now what was quickly becoming a courtship.

Constantly, Derek had to remind himself that he did not have to hide his relationship with Stiles - they were betrothed. But maybe it was because they were already promised to each other that he wanted to keep as much of the relationship secret as possible.

In their most recent letter, Stiles told Derek that the only one who knew of his letters to Derek was Scott and, more recently, Lady Lydia had coerced the truth out of him. Despite his statements the last time they saw each other, Lady Lydia became a deeply trusted friend to Stiles, but nothing more romantic ever occurred between them.

Laura told Derek that the entire court knew about their letters, and most likely all of Stiles’ court as well. Derek had laughed at how obtuse the younger prince could be about some things when he was so sharp about many others.

This morning, Derek had sat at his desk which overlooked the gardens on the side of the palace lost in thought. He was wondering if his letter would reach Stiles today, his eighteenth birthday. Derek was almost entirely certain that his mother employed a rider specifically to deliver his and Stiles’ letters to each other. The letter had been sent off three days ago, and barring any sort of crisis, should arrive there by midday.

Derek was nervous for a reply because he had asked Stiles if he would consider coming to stay at the Hale palace for an extended period of time so they could begin their official courtship, now that Stiles was of age.

As he began pacing his room, he knew it was pointless to be so wound up about it. Even if Stiles did get the letter today, it would still be a few days before Derek had his reply. He was wondering what the young prince looked like now, as the statement Laura made to him at his birthday dinner years ago had stayed with him. The twelve-year-old had certainly been adorable, if you could get past all his annoying qualities, but Derek found himself wondering how that translated into a young man.

Would he grow into that slightly upturned nose or would it make him look snooty? Would his long fingers and delicate wrists have grown with him or stayed dainty and feminine? He had been tall for a child, would he continue to grow taller than Derek? Certainly his warm butterscotch eyes would still be the brightest feature in his face, glowing and lighting up Derek’s dark dismal world.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he called out an order to enter. Cora walked in accompanied by a tall man with curly hair whom she introduced as Lord Isaac, ward of Lady Melissa of Beacon Hills. Before Derek’s brain could catch up with what this meant, Cora spelled it out for him.

“He’s just arrived with Prince Stiles and a caravan, Der,” her voice giving emphasis on the word caravan. “You should have told Mom and Dad that you invited your fiancee to live with us.”

“I… what?” was Derek’s eloquent answer.

The answer that Cora may have given to him was cut off when the man in questions stepped into the room behind them.

Derek’s breath caught in his throat as he stared at the man in front of him. Stiles looked even better than Derek had imagined, his hair had grown out and was a casual messy style that made him look mature and so sexy that it hurt Derek’s heart. In addition to Stiles being the same height as him, Derek was also right about Stiles growing into his nose and having large, long fingers that Derek ached to have touch him.

Stiles was staring so deeply into Derek’s eyes that neither of them noticed that Cora and Isaac had left the room and they were alone.

When they finally broke eye contact so that Derek could compose himself, Stiles bowed with a deep flourish and addressed him as “Your Highness.” The gesture was so fine-tuned that Derek was sure he had been practicing. Stiles met his eyes as he straightened up and closed the distance between the two of them in seconds. He took one of Derek’s hands between his own and raised it to his lips.

“I’ve missed you, Derek, letters aren’t the same as being here with you,” he said softly. Derek flushed as the sound of his deep voice and blinked rapidly, willing himself not to say something stupid in return.

It took Derek a minute to gather his thoughts, but when he did he said, “I never thought I would miss the sound of you speaking to me.”


End file.
